Oh gmail (and accessories)... will you be my valentine?

Gmail has become a crutch for so many my age. Just as I was leaving undergrad in 2006 gmail was taking off... and I needed a new email anyways. With far more working features that yahoo or hotmail (and because it was the cool thing to do) I got a gmail account with the professional name of firstname.lastname@gmail.com

Fast forward 5 years later, through grad school, first jobs and now into my career at a start up. My 4 year old company lives on google, google docs, google sites... to manage our internal doings. Even more so my personal life is completely google-fied from the moment I wake up to the evening. I will describe below:

Wake up (via blackberry, but that is a whole other post), read my personal and business gmail, look at my appt on my g calendar, gchat the fiance (he is 5 hours ahead).... this is all before I get up from bed... Once at work... first I use google reader to catch up on the industry... on gmail all day at work as we use them and google docs run our company etc... at home on personal gmail where google docs keep my finances and wedding planning in order...

Oh and it all syncs to my blackberry....

Dear Google, I know you are collecting my info to target ads at me... but its ok... we are both using each other really... without one the other would not exist... I love our co-dependency... will you be my valentine?

BUT..... In 6 months my name will change... should I... change my gmail?

I speak American.... the freedom language

Ah yes... English

Like most things American we like to take other peoples things, change them stupidly and then claim that they are our own. Why should our native tongue be any different.

Well if you walk into an "Estate Agent" (not realtor) and ask for a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath house. You will get funny looks and be shown places where a bedroom is any room that a person can stand in and close a door (read 6'x8' does not a bedroom make) and a half bath just does not exist. Luckily not everyone in England has to deal with purchasing a house... but everyone does go to the pub.

I actually think I did better in Sevilla (dos vino tinto y tapas queso de cabra por favor) than I do in a British pub. Not just because of the funny looking money and that a single coin can get you an adult beverage (flashback to college when 25 cents did buy beer, in the ghetto, and that place did get shut down) but its the lingo that is being thrown around on top of the silly accent. So if I must give up some of my wicked awesome Boston slang words.... I shall pick some new fabulous ones to add into my vernacular;

Aggro - Short for aggravation, it's the sort of thing you might expect at a football match. In other words - trouble! There is sometimes aggro in the cities after the pubs shut!

Barmy - If someone tells you that you're barmy they mean you have gone mad or crazy. For example you'd have to be barmy to visit England without trying black puddin

Chin Wag - This is another word for a Chat. You can probably tell why!

Dog's bollocks - You would say that something really fantastic was the dog's bollocks. Comes from the fact that a dog's bollocks are so fantastic that he can't stop licking them! Nice huh? Often shortened to just "The dog's".

Easy Peasy - A childish term for something very easy. You might say it's a snap.

Fanny - This is the word for a woman's front bits! One doesn't normally talk about anyone's fanny as it is a bit rude. You certainly don't have a fanny pack, or smack people on their fannys - you would get arrested for that! Careful use of this word in the UK is advised!

Give us a bell - This simply means call me. You often hear people use the word "us" to mean "me".

Hash - The thing you call a pound sign! Before you ask, yes it is also something you smoke - see wacky backy. Also to make a real hash of something means you really screwed it up.

I'm easy - This expression means I don't care or it's all the same to me. Not to be confused with how easy it is to lure the person into bed!

Jimmy - Actually short for Jimmy Riddle. i.e. I'm off for a Jimmy Riddle. This is Cockney rhyming slang for piddle!

Knackered - The morning after twenty pints and the curry, you'd probably feel knackered. Another way to describe it is to say you feel shagged. Basically worn out, good for nothing, tired out, knackered.

Leg it - This is a way of saying run or run for it. Usually said by kids having just been caught doing something naughty. Well it was when I was a kid!

Mate - Most chaps like to go to the pub with their mates. Mate means friend or chum.

Nicked - Something that has been stolen has been nicked. Also, when a copper catches a burglar red handed he might say "you've been nicked"!

On the piss - If you are out on the piss, it means you are out to get drunk, or to get pissed.

Pants - actually underwear... whole new meaning to cant find my pants

Quid - A pound in money is called a quid. It is the equivalent to the buck or clam in America. A five pound note is called a fiver and a ten pound note is called a tenner.

Row - Rhymes with "cow" this means an argument. You might hear your Mum having a row with your Dad, or your neighbours might be rowing so loud you can hear them!

Slag - To slag someone off, is to bad mouth them in a nasty way. Usually to their face.

Taking the mickey - See taking the piss. Variations include "taking the mick" and "taking the Michael".

U - A letter used far more in British. It is in words like colour, favour, labour etc. I think this is why UK keyboards have 102 characters on them instead of your 101, or is it because they have a pound sign on them?

Willy - Another word for penis. It is the word many young boys are taught as it is a nicer word than most of the alternatives. Some people also use it for girls as there are no nice alternatives. Hence "woman's willy". Also used by grown ups who don't wish to offend (this word is safe to use with elderly Grandparents).

Zed - The last letter of the alphabet. The English hate saying zee and only relent with names such as ZZ Top (Zed Zed Top does sound a bit stupid!).

If you could...

travel anywhere in Europe for under $200 round trip... where to go....

Well I have been facing this question as I have the time to travel in the next few months. I decided to take an analytical approach to eliminate a few choices below:

Germany- will be traveling there for work

Spain- just was in Sevilla and will be going to Barcelona for work

Ireland- Been there

England- Been around there

Greece- honeymoon destination

That leaves me with a few top choices:

Portugal- amazing food

Morocco- hello Casablanca

Italy- Fun but seems a bit cliche

As I already have two trips planned (Paris etc) I think I am going to go with Portugal as it is still chilly in England, Morocco I am not sure is safe and Italy really is cliche.....

Facts about Portugal:

They speak Portuguese (I dont)

They eat lots of fish

They have coastline

It looked fun in the bad British show "Mile High"

That is about all I know... should make for an interesting trip. now to ryanair, Flybe, bmibaby and easyjet to find one of those lovely low fares....

fyi- hopefully Thursdays will be more fun when I actually am traveling

How to plan a type A wedding... when you are type B

This whole post could appeal to life in general. I love the Jcrew/Martha Stewart lifestyle and drool over home design magazines. However I am drawn to the vintage vibe which contrasts with clean lines and non-clutter.

Well I have the best advice ever... which I can say I have tried and tested... Have a lot of type A friends and family who will help! I am placing a lot of important parts of the wedding into friends hands as I know they are far more functional than I am. This includes at least flowers, photos, set up, breakfast, keeping RSVP info straight and table numbers.

I have always been an idea person. However (like at work), I am smart enough to surround myself with great functional people who can turn an idea into reality. Luckily these people are amazing, love me and are well aware of my dysfunctional issues.

Unfortunately all this planning and support has been done for the HC wedding. The England wedding has no site or date even yet. I also have no support group over there other than my amazing fiancée who unfortunately suffers from the same disease as me. We have decided to ignore the England wedding until after my transatlantic move.

So in the end... admit your short comings and surround yourself with very amazing, talented and helpful people. And really if you think about it; pretty flowers are pretty flowers, they will still look pretty no matter how they are arranged on the stupid reception tables.

A little structure...

So to keep myself focused I will have a very flexible structure to this blog:

Moving Monday

Tasty Tuesday

Wedding Wednesday

Travel Thursdays

Foreigner Fridays

Scattergory Saturday and Sunday

What to do....

When everything goes crazy..... what to do....

So far 2011 has brought the following (in no particular order):-

-Promotion to a new position at my job (a position that did not previously exist)

-Moving from an apt and selling/giving away/throwing out 90% of my life

-Placing an offer on a house I have never seen and having it accepted

Craziness on the horizon:

-The transatlantic move... with dog (see whole other list of trying to move a dog to the UK)

-Closing on a house

-Not having a legal home until July

-Working out Visa issues with the wedding

-Planning a wedding in Worcester, MA

-Planning a wedding in Sheffield, UK

-Getting back home for a shower and bachelorette party

-Decorating and DIY my new home

-Learning British lingo after getting strange looks for words I use

-Building a successful business account in my new role

-Buying a bed with my fiancée when we know we like complete opposites

and that is just the next couple of months...

Stay tuned for more reflections, stories and general ridiculousness.....

FYI- the blog is titled after the phrase most uttered by my beloved to me... "Sort yourself out woman.."